Bobby Cool’s Family Time will be out July 29, 2022. Photo: google
From an Athens, Georgia dive bar to Music City’s club scene and beyond, songwriter Bobby Coolhas spent the ups and downs of the past 10+ years—like working as a janitor, radon inspector, and flooring salesman to make ends meet throughout the music industry’s shutdown in 2020 and 2021—collecting stories about life’s small moments and telling them in a way that makes listeners feel as if the tunes were written just for them. In the vein of Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers, and Sturgill Simpson, Cool blends bluegrass, Americana, and country into a rousing, good-time mix of genres on his upcoming album Family Time, which will be out July 29, 2022. (Bobby Cool, 2022)
Cool’s way with words shines on his country-folk ballad “American Dream,” the album’s opener and the first listen shared with fans ahead of Family Time’s July 29 release date. Telling the story of an enlisted brother, free-spirit sister, and an ultimately ailing mother—all narrated by a road-dog musician—“American Dream” paints a quirky, fun, and at times devastating story of what it means to make a life in the land of the free. “It’s ultimately not about fortune or fame,” says Cool. “…but the freedom to choose your own path and live it out.” Americana Highways premiered the single with early praises who stated, “If you allow Bobby Cool to entertain you, you’ll find deep country with strong Southern rural roots in every note. Find nostalgia and hope and a story of family we can all relate to.” Fans can check out the lyric video for “American Dream” now at this ink and pre-order or pre-saveFamily Time ahead of release day.
At the end of February 2020, Cool and his producer Adam Haynes (bluegrass fiddler for The Grascals, Dailey & Vincent, and others) tracked 13 songs over the course of two days. Two weeks later, the world would shut down and a two-year journey would commence to release into the world what would finally become Family Time. On Family Time, Cool shares musical snapshots of small and large moments that define family life and captures intimately the grooves and creases, the craziness and the humor, the regrets, and the celebrations of living together in songs that resonate so deeply we feel as if he has written them just for us. He sings songs that reach us wherever we find ourselves in our lives, touching us, healing us, and embracing us with music that fills our hearts and reminds us that life’s most important events happen on family time.
Teddy and the Rough Riders skip town to start a farm on groovy new single ‘Livin in the Woods.’ Their new LP, Teddy and the Rough Riders, will be out July 1, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Teddy and The Rough Riders is probably your favorite country band’s favorite country band. With a sound that sits somewhere in the middle of “down-home” and “far out,” the Nashville-born-and-bred band proudly and prolifically drops retro-sounding, feel-good songs that would fit right in on a Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast or a late-night slot at Bonnaroo. Masked alt-country darling Orville Peck decided to take Teddy and The Rough Riders on a nationwide tour this year that included a stop at the band’s hometown Ryman Auditorium—a bucket list venue for performers from around the world—and current queen of the country underground, Margo Price, loves the band so much she decided to produce their upcoming LP, Teddy and The Rough Riders. On July 1, via Appalachia Record Co., that great uniting can begin with the release of the Price-produced LP Teddy and The Rough Riders. (Teddy and The Rough Riders, 2022)
The band recently released their first preview of the album with “Livin in the Woods,” a grand idea of leaving town and disappearing into the woods to start a farm with friends. The track premiered with The Boot who hailed the band and called the trio, “a must watch act to watch in 2022.” Fans can hear for themselves by checking out “Livin in the Woods” now at this link. Teddy and The Rough Riders can be digitally pre-ordered or pre-saved ahead of its July 1st release right here and physical pre-orders, including vinyl, can be found here.
Up until the sessions for Teddy and the Rough Riders in 2019, the band—Jack Quiggins (vocals, guitar), Ryan Jennings (vocals, bass), Nic Swafford (drums), and Luke Schneider (pedal steel)—had mostly recorded at home. This was their first big studio effort with a producer, engineer, session players, and the goal of an audible fidelity change. After narrowing down their best demos, the band recruited Margo Price to produce because of her creative vision and “let’s roll” Neil Young-inspired recording philosophy. They rented out Club Roar, brought in engineer-producer Jake Davis and spent a few days holed up in the studio to capture the magic of the session. What resulted from those days of close collaboration in the studio on the final version of the album, mixed by Davis and mastered by John Baldwin, is some of the most original country rock to come from Nashville in a while.
In the years leading up to their new self-titled LP, Teddy and The Rough Riders have released a home-recorded EP and LP, and several singles, including a 7” record from Third Man Records. They have shared bills with artists such as Margo Price, Jeff the Brotherhood, and Soccer Mommy, and have been the backing band in most of Emily Nenni’s recordings and live shows. Musical collaborators include Skyway Man, Erin Rae, Sean Thompson, and David Leonard, among others. After years of touring, playing bars and recording a prolific back catalog of work, Teddy and The Rough Riders first “big studio” effort, produced by Margo Price, will be released on July 1 via Appalachia Record Co.
For fans of Hayes Carll, Willie Nelson, and John Prine, Oh Me, Oh My will be out August 19, 2022. Photo: Forrest McCurren.
With a half-time back beat and a feel-good guitar twang, songwriter Forrest McCurren graciously marries a classic rock road song with a classic country love song on his new tune “Little Rock.” Sparked by how his messy motel room on the road was compared to the orderly and clean life he led back home, McCurren spun up this rocker that evokes the urgency of a road warrior like himself to make it on home, specifically to his wife Margaret—who sings and plays drums and fiddle on McCurren’s upcoming debut Oh Me, OhMy. The initial idea transformed into an ode to Margaret and getting home to her. (Forrest McCurren, 2022)
Last week, Wide Open Country premiered the music video for “Little Rock,” which follows Forrest and Margaret on a beautifully-shot mission from the fireworks store to the Piggly Wiggly and beyond. They noted, “You could consider Oh Me, Oh My a soundtrack to those moments of human connection that feel almost cosmic.” Fans can watch the “Little Rock” music video now at this link and stay up to date on all things Forrest and Oh Me, Oh My ahead of its August 19 release right here.
McCurren’s entertaining debut album Oh Me, Oh My showcases the energy of his live shows with songs that shimmer and rock with an ebullient warmth that is bound to reach into listeners’ hearts and souls and get them to reflect a little on the people and places that mean the most to them. He is always writing songs, but all the songs on this album are from a three-year period when McCurren was setting out on his own, between college and now. He is looking back at his life, looking at his life now, and looking forward to his life to come in the 10 songs on the album. “I was just setting out on my own,” McCurren laughs. “I spent a lot of time thinking about my grandparents, painting a picture of characters I knew growing up. In the songs there’s a sense of longing and place, and they evoke the transition from running wild as a kid to running wild as a man. The songs have a sense of movement and a sense of place and a sense of who I was gonna be.”
As soon as he learned three chords, McCurren started to write songs. In his early 20s he started accumulating songs. In his songwriting, he resembles Hemingway. “I always try to write one true sentence. Every song I have kept, the first line I wrote was the first line of the song. Words come first, then melodies get inspired by the words. I trust the quickness of the way I write. I am always jotting down rhymes. Songs have given me a way of understanding who I am and relating to people.” Music is McCurren’s favorite ways to connect with people. “My songs show them a little bit of who I am and when I show them a little of me they share a little bit of them, too.” He does not write sad songs, but songs that move us and celebrate, as he says, the “luckiness of life.” As his debut album shows, McCurren excels at making those connection and at celebrating life. Forrest McCurren has a reverence for the songs, and he sings, plays, and writes with a heart for bringing people together.
Catch Forrest McCurren on tour: June 23-26 – Slade, KY – Festival of the Red October 6-8 – Eldon, MO – Lake Ozark Music Festival
The new EP Reset will be released July 15, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Described as “A talented and dark-visioned lot!” by popular metal site Bravewords.com; Houston “prog-ternative” rock band Anova Skyway will follow up the release of their acclaimed 2020 single “Diet of Worms” with another bold and irresistible take on the modern prog blueprint. The six-piece ensemble will debut their awaited EP titled Reset on July 15, 2022. (Anova Skyway, 2022)
Reset features six songs including four co-written with Louis Abramson of JOLLY and an intriguing cover of Faith No More’s “Ashes to Ashes.” Produced by the incredible Dean Dichoso; Anova Skyway makes a notable and instantly satisfying impression with Reset, showcasing their sonic evolution with their most indulgent and exploratory melodies to date, caressed by powerfully emotive lyrics.
“Reset represents yet another turn in our winding journey as a band. All the detours left their mark and brought us to the unit that we are today. Mike has completely blown us away with where he’s taken the vocal performances. The hole he leaves in the guitar spot with this move makes room for one of our oldest friends in music and one of the best guitarists we know in Sean Gary (ex-Oceans of Slumber). Frank Alonzo rounds it out on keys and our brother Garret West has left his mark as well contributing the lyrics to some of these songs as a final parting gift. We are excited to bring this new version of Anova Skyway to the world.” – drummer Mike Marksberry
The refreshed ANOVA SKYWAY lineup is composed of vocalist Mike Palacios, Guitarists Andrew Alvarez and Sean Gary, Drummer Mike Marksberry, Bassist Cory Miles, and Frank Alonzo on Keys/synth.
“Mike has completely blown us away with where he’s taken the vocal performances and we can’t wait to bring this new version of Anova. We have a new vocalist, a new guitarist, and a new keyboardist. I wouldn’t say there is a huge departure from our previous style, but those new elements alone make for a brand new sound! We’re excited to bring it to the world.” – Anova Skyway
The track listing for Reset is unveiled below along with the stunning EP artwork designed by Giannis Nakos of Remedy Art. The first single will premiere soon, along with additional EP details including pre-order information. Anova Skyway teased a glimpse of what’s to come via social media. Visit the band’s Facebook page for a peek into the arrival of Reset.
Reset track list 1. Translucent 2. Absent 3. Spark 4. City Underground 5. Ashes to Ashes 6. Horizon
Horizon is the new single from the new EP Reset, due out July 15, 2022.
The County Line Community Band will perform in the Buena Vista Theater on the UTSA downtown campus. Photo: google
On Sunday, June 26, 2022 at 3p.m., the County Line Community Band will perform their “Concert Favorites and Solos” in the beautiful Buena Vista Theater on the UTSA Downtown Campus from 3p.m. to 4p.m. This concert will feature world renowned Saxophonist, Dr. Andy Wen and Tyler Neufer, French Horn instrumentalist with the U.S. Air Force Band of the West. The band will also highlight music considered some of the favorites in band literature like, “Funiculi, Funicula,” “Bugler’s Holiday,” “Lassus Trombone,” and more. (County Line Community Band, 2022)
This concert is free and open to the public. Parking is free at the Cattleman’s Square parking lot across the street from the theater. Come out and support community music in San Antonio. Donations deeply appreciated.
The CLCB is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and our mission and endeavor is to create an environment whereby our all-volunteer organization can further their musical education and enjoyment through the performance of concert and symphonic music, to further the efficacy of music as an integral piece of the culture of the local community, to advocate for the synergistic integration of music education, to work with our cultural partners in our communities for the advancement of the arts and to be a source of pride for our members and the communities we serve.
We Banjo 3 appeals to fans of bluegrass, Celtic, and Americana music. Open The Road will be out July 15, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Traditional Irish music and traditional American music share a lot of similarities in instrumentation, lyrical content, and community participation. Still, there are a surprisingly few number of acts who straddle that musical gap across the Atlantic—and even fewer who have made a decade-long, award-winning career out of it like Galway-based quartet We Banjo 3. Containing two sets of two brothers—Enda & Fergal Scahill, and David & Martin Howley—We Banjo 3 have built their legacy on seamlessly combining the virtuosity and precision in each genre’s traditional disciplines with the artful song-craft and infectious live performance of today’s musical landscape. Their upcoming album Open The Road—out July 15—meets on the corner of complex-but-nimble instrumentation and magnetic, well-crafted songs; a combination of which their fans have been enjoying from studio to stage since the band first landed on American shores ten years ago. (We Banjo 3, 2022)
We Banjo 3 shared the first track from Open The Road, the driving jig-turned-indie pop love song, “Hummingbird.” First conceptualized in March 2020 during the great lockdown, David Howley had ample free time. David and his Nashville roommate Scott Mulvahill, an accomplished musician in his own right, spent time in Scott’s home-studio to lay down some new songs. “We had a house full of instruments, microphones, coffee and whiskey, so we did what we could to stay sane,” Howley remembers. Having mentioned to Mulvahill that he had a tune he liked but that needed it still needed to be finished, Mulvahill replied while tearing open a new bag of coffee beans, “Well let’s finish it then!”
Fast-forward to almost two years later, We Banjo 3 finished tracking “Hummingbird” and it landed in the lead-off spot on Open The Road. In addition to the guest musicians who contributed to the initial session—Danny Young on drums and Josh Shilling on keys—The Infamous Stringdusters’ Andy Hall plays his dobro on the final track. Fans can hear “Hummingbird” right now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Open The Road ahead of its July 15 release right here.
We Banjo 3 shares a musical intimacy that emanates in the rolling banjos, soaring fiddle and mandolin runs, and bright and vibrant guitar strums that swirl around propulsive vocals and perfect harmonies. On their new album, Open The Road, it’s the band’s prolific tune-writing skills, and their inciting lyrics that are somehow ubiquitous and intimate all at once, that pull the listener in. Buoyed by musical virtuosity and well-crafted song structure, their complex instrumentation feels nimble and willowy, shaping a contended and canny listening experience. The album’s ten tracks offer up the infectious melodies and musical brilliance fans have come to expect from We Banjo 3, and introduces the band to an even wider swath of music fans at festivals across the U.S. and the world.
Open The Road track list: Hummingbird Garden Song Long Way Down Heart In Hand Open The Road Rialto Gift Of Life The First Second Gentleman Alive With You Believe In Us
Catch We Banjo 3 on tour: June 17 – Dayton, OH – Levitt Pavilion June 18 – Lakeside, OH – Lakeside Chautauqua: Hoover Auditorium June 19 – Charleston, WV – Mountain Stage (Culture Center Theater) June 23 – Memphis, TN – Overton Park Shell (formerly Levitt Shell) June 24 – Owensboro, KY – ROMP 2022 July 16 – Oak Hill, NY – Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival 2022 July 19 – Rockport, MA – Shalin Liu Performance Center July 20 – Natick, MA – Center For Arts In Natick July 29 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Music Festival 2022 July 30 – Denver, CO – Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox July 31 – Lyons, CO – RockyGrass Festival 2022 August 1 – Crested Butte, CO – Center for the Arts Crested Butte August 3 – Portsmouth, OH – Vern Riffe Center for the Arts August 5-7 – Dublin, OH – Dublin Irish Fest 2022 August 9-10 – Bethlehem, PA – MUSIKFEST August 12 – St. Paul, MN – Irish Fair of Minnesota 2022 August 13 – La Crosse, WI – IrishFest La Crosse 2022 August 14 – St. Paul, MN – Irish Fair of Minnesota 2022 August 19 – 21 – Milwaukee, WI – Milwaukee Irish Fest September 2-4 – Kansas City, MO – Kansas City Irish Festival 2022 October 21 – Frederick, MD – Weinberg Center For The Arts October 22 – Manteo, NC – Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival
2023 (Rescheduled) Tour Dates: January 27 – Sacramento, CA – The Sofia January 29 – Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage February 1 – Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theater February 2 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre February 3 – Wickenburg, AZ – Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts February 4 – Chandler, AZ – Chandler Center for the Arts
The Local Honeys, Kentucky’s favorite duo, will release their self-titled album with La Honda Records on July 15, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
When a master songsmith like Tom T. Hall calls someone “a great credit to a wonderful Kentucky tradition,” it is time to pull up a chair and pay attention. As it pertains to the nearly-decade-running duo The Local Honeys, he was right on the money. The duo—Linda Jean Stokley and Montana Hobbs—have long been an integral part of Kentucky’s musicscape, and on July 15, they will be adding a new entry into the Bluegrass State’s rich musical canon. Their first release on La Honda Records (Colter Wall, Riddy Arman, Vincent Neil Emerson), The Local Honeys features ten winsome vignettes of rural Kentucky, conjuring 90’s alternatives sounds with hillbilly Radiohead lilts, soaring above layers of deep grooves and rich tones masterfully curated by longtime mentor Jesse Wells, a GRAMMY-nominated producer, musician (currently a member of Tyler Childers’ band The Food Stamps), and Assistant Director at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State. (The Local Honeys, 2022)
The Local Honeys shared their first taste of the new album with “Dead Horses,” an emotional look at the tragedy of animal husbandry. With lines like “Suppose we’re all just animals with slightly different hides,” Stokely displays a cut and dried existence on the farm and the world at large while drums and banjo meld together propelling the tune from verse to verse. The accompanying music video finds Stokley and Hobbs surrounded by nostalgic photos of their equine counterparts, contributed by the band’s fanbase, adding weight to the meaning of the song itself. The “Dead Horses” video is available hereand fans can pre-order or pre-save The Local Honeys ahead of its July 15 release at this link.
Over the years, The Local Honeys have paid their dues, garnering countless accolades and accomplishments (tours with Tyler Childers, Colter Wall, praise from the New York Times), and have become the defining sound of real deal, honest-to-god Kentucky music. With The Local Honeys, Stokley and Hobbs ended up with the most nuanced, moody, deep-holler sound they have captured to date. “This is the first time we’ve actively gotten to express who we are and where we’re from” says Linda Jean, “The songs on the album speak for us,” adds Montana “they’re about what we know, reflections of us as people. We realized we have the power to add our own narrative into Kentucky music.”
Throughout The Local Honeys, the duo demands to be interpreted as creators and storytellers, not just purveyors of tradition. Similarly, the sounds captured within the project cement their place as innovators and rule-breakers. Rollicking banjo meets overdriven guitar hooks and blue-collar rural grit is met with lush melodies and nimble harmonies; it is a project filled with juxtaposition and it is not by accident. It is reflective of who they are and who they run with. Wells, along with the rest of Childers’ band The Food Stamps – Rod Elkins (percussion) Craig Burletic (bass) and Josh Nolan (guitar) from Clay City, Kentucky, all lent their expertise and signature groove as collaborators during the session creating a fluidity, warmth, and cohesion that can only be created through friendship.
The songs on The Local Honeys speak to a new generation, a new Appalachian, the people who understand the beauty, the struggle, and the complexity of contemporary Appalachian life. In “The Ballad of Frank and Billy Buck,” Hobbs describes the grace, humor, and irony of an aging hillbilly leading up to the final moments of his unjust demise. Or there is “If I Could Quit,” a song that grapples with the horrors of the ongoing opiate epidemic and the guttural pain of watching a friend deteriorate through addiction. Pride and sense of place run deep in songs like “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die),” a love letter about Linda’s family orchard in Central Kentucky. Playful colloquialisms and regional idiosyncrasies also permeate throughout the record as illustrated in “Better Than I Deserve,” a song built around an informal greeting Montana’s Papaw used throughout her childhood. The album is rounded out with “The L & N Don’t Stop Here No More,” (the only cover on the record written by Appalachian royalty and kin to Hobbs, Jean Ritchie) a song highlighting the hardships of post-coal communities painting an all too familiar scene of contemporary rural Appalachia. Reflecting upon these songs Linda notes, “Songwriting can freeze people in time like a photograph, preserving little nuances particular to specific cultures and I love that.”
Catch The Local Honeys on tour: June 10 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre July 10 – Crossville, TN – Byrd’s Creek Music Festival July 15- Nashville, TN- The Basement (album release show) July 17- Knoxville, TN- Barley’s Taproom July 19- Asheville, NC- The Grey Eagle July 20- Decatur, GA- Eddie’s Attic July 21- Memphis, TN- Hernando’s Hideaway July 22- St. Louis, MO- Off Broadway July 23- Kansas City, MO- Knucklehead’s July 26- Denver, CO- Lost Lake Lounge July 28- Red Lodge, MT- One Legged Magpie July 29- Emigrant, MT- The Old Saloon July 30- White Sulphur Springs, MT- Red Ants Pants Festival July 31- Bozeman, MT- Live from the Divide
Jaret Ray Reddick’s Just Woke Up is available now. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Critically-acclaimed Texas musician Jaret Ray Reddick’s debut country album, Just Woke Up (Brando Records/Que-So Records), is now available worldwide. Just Woke Up is a sincere love letter to Texas and pays homage to the greats before him while giving a refreshing, unique spin on the genre, with one example being his single “One Of The Good Ones,” which blends elements of both country and rock. Written by Reddick alongside Zac Maloy, the track is now at Texas Country Radio and is currently climbing the charts. (Jaret Ray Reddick, 2022)
“Making this album is a long time coming for me. And part of all of that was being able to write songs from the heart and not hold back. ‘One Of The Good Ones’ is a song written with a few folks in mind and how much they mean to me. Friends are rampant in life. But, sometimes, we are lucky enough to find those folks that not only make us better people but can also soften the blows that take the wind out of us.” – Jaret Ray Reddick
Jaret Ray Reddick might be a name you recognize, but his voice is one that pretty much everyone will know, whether it is from being the singer of pop-punk pioneers Bowling for Soup with hits like “1985,” “Girl All The Bad Guys,” or “High School Never Ends,” to voicing Chuck E Cheese or singing the theme to Disney’s long-running hit series Phineas and Ferb.
Born in Grapevine and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas, Reddick’s country roots run deep as his pride for the Lone Star State. His parents were Country music fans, and Willie, Waylon, and other classic country artists were on regular rotation at home. Music from fellow Texan The Red Headed Stranger and his outlaw friends would prove vital in his development as a musician and remain a crucial rock throughout his career.
Those familiar with his work as the front man of Grammy-nominated pop-punk band Bowling for Soup will find a familiar voice and sense of humor in the music and lyrics. The album features some special guests, most notably one of Reddick’s favorite musicians and good friend Frank Turner, who lends his vocals on “Drunk as It Takes.” There is also a cameo by Uncle Kracker on the album opener “Way More Country,” Descendents guitarist Stephen Egerton performs on “Natalie,” and Cody Canada of The Departed appears on “You and Beer.”
Other highlights include the home state anthem “Songs About Texas,” the family tribute “Royal Family,” and “One of the Good Ones.” There are also country re-workings of two of Bowling for Soup’s most popular songs, “Ohio (Come Back to Texas)” and “The Bitch Song,” which are likely to please fans old and new alike.
Just Woke Up track list:
“Way More Country” (feat. Uncle Kracker) (Jaret Ray Reddick, Zac Maloy
“One of the Good Ones” (Jaret Ray Reddick, Zac Maloy
“Songs About Texas” (Jaret Ray Reddick, Zac Maloy
“Ohio” (Come Back to Texas)” (Jaret Ray Reddick, Ted E Bruner, Zac Maloy
“Royal Family” (Jaret Ray Reddick, Zac Maloy)
“Doggonit!” (Jaret Ray Reddick, Zac Maloy
“Drunk as It Takes” (feat. Frank Turner) (Jaret Ray Reddick, Rodney Clawson, Zac Maloy
“You and Beer” (feat. Cody Canada) (Jaret Ray Reddick, Zac Maloy
“Natalie” (feat. Stephen Egerton) (Charles R Jones
“My Truck Up and Left Me” (Jaret Ray Reddick, Zac Maloy
The Red Clay Strays’ debut album Moment of Truth is available now. Photo: Macie Bowden, used with permission.
After cutting their teeth in the Gulf Coast scene touring for five years, The Red Clay Straysreleased their debut album Moment of Truth in April. The album is available now worldwide. This 12-track album blends its unique individualities and influences to create a project that breathes raw honesty. Band members Brandon Coleman (lead vocals/guitar), Drew Nix (vocals/electric guitar/harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), and John Hall (drums) collaborated to create Moment of Truth. Each member, including the band’s videographer, Matthew Coleman, had a hand in writing this project, which strives to bring the public songs with a purpose that embody real-life experiences. (The Red Clay Strays, 2022)
“Moment of Truth strives to bring audiences something real to experience,” the band continues. “The music and lyrics have a purpose to them. These songs have more purpose to them – a mission if you will. They usher in love and deeper thoughts about the situations we humans find ourselves in. ‘Ghosts’ has a clear message about not hanging on to baggage from your past and moving on with life. ‘Forgive’ is about not being able to move on until you let go of that baggage. ‘Sunshine’ is about walking that line and staying within God’s grace and light. The album is loaded with tunes that we hope evoke people’s thoughts and guide them to a better way of thinking.”
Moment of Truth is a collection of songs formed into a tangible album because of the band’s hard work and dedicated fanbase. On February 25, the band started a crowdfunding campaign on their Strays & Friends Facebook group page to see if fans would graciously donate money to go towards the album in exchange for merchandise and the opportunity to receive exclusive content. Over a weekend, that small group of Facebook fans donated a total of $17,000.
On February 27, the Red Clay Strays made their campaign public and raised over $48,000 within the next week, confirming that crowds love the Strays music and believe in their cause to bring their career to the next level. The campaign ended with a total of $57,715 raised – well exceeding their goal of $40,000.
With a sound both modern and reminiscent of a Sun Records vinyl, The Red Clay Strays are forging a new path with their spellbinding genre-bending brand of tunes. Inspired by the vibrant heyday of southern music, the band finds its origins in the styles of classic country, rockabilly, and gospel-fed soul, all the while ushering in a new era of rock-and-roll that is as distinctive as the men who form it.
Born and bred in the red dirt clay of south Alabama, Brandon Coleman (lead vocals/guitar), Drew Nix (vocals/electric guitar/harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), and John Hall (drums), blended their unique individualities and influences to create a band with a rare sincerity that is not often seen in today’s industry. The band is following their album release with a Moment of Truth tour.
Moment of Truth track list:
1. “Stone’s Throw” (Drew Nix and Eric Erdman) 2. “Moment of Truth” (Matthew Coleman) 3. “Do Me Wrong” (Drew Nix) 4. “Wondering Why” (Brandon Coleman, Drew Nix, and Dan Couch) 5. “Forgive” (Matthew Coleman) 6. “Heavy Heart” (Matthew Coleman) 7. “Ghosts” (Drew Nix) 8. “She’s No Good” (Drew Nix and John Hall) 9. “Don’t Care” (Brandon Coleman) 10. “Killers” (Matthew Coleman) 11. “Sunshine” (Matthew Coleman) 12. “Doin’ Time” (Drew Nix)
Eclectic quartet Corner House brings musical levity to the breakup song segment with the first single ‘South of the City’ from their new full length album How Beautiful It’s Been. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Emerging from varied genre backgrounds, Boston-formed quartet Corner House’sunique strength is their desire to learn from one another—not only in musical skill and style, but in life experience—such that every challenge overcome by one band member becomes part of the group’s shared musical and personal DNA. On their new full-length debut, How Beautiful It’s Been, the band—songwriter and guitarist Ethan Hawkins, Scottish fiddle player Louise Bichan, bluegrass mandolinist Ethan Setiawan, and cellist Casey Murray—reveals the sublime result of that growth mindset, with a singular sound that incorporates old time, Scottish, progressive bluegrass, and folk music, with the help of their collective mentor and the album’s producer, Scottish harp virtuoso Maeve Gilchrist. Americana Highways premiered Corner House’s first single from How Beautiful It’s Been, “South of the City.” Leaning well toward the upbeat end of the break-up song spectrum, this waltzing number showcases not only Hawkins’s songwriting but the band’s stellar, accurate-yet-soulful musicianship as well. Fans can hear “South of the City” now at this link. (Corner House, 2022)
Corner House’s first full-length offering features five lyrical songs and four instrumentals, which serve as soundscape meditations between each lyrical offering. Several of the instrumentals, such as “Two Rights Make a Chicken,” showcase the Celtic influence in the band, with gorgeous cello and fiddle melodies calling Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas recordings to mind. In this context, however, they are also accompanied by rhythmic and arpeggiated mandolin and guitar, emerging into improvised solos before returning to the melodic backbone of the tune. Although Hawkins is the sole lyric writer, the subject matter of the group’s songs is a reflection of their collective experience. One such song is “Angel Falls,” one of the album’s standout tracks which Hawkins wrote after a long discussion with Murray about her experiences with religion as a queer person. “I am human / I have choices / To love who I want to love / I have a right.”
In many ways, Corner House is the band we all wish we could be a part of. Mutually inspired, learning from one another, and open to any and all ideas, the group is a beautiful representation of their generation; not only tolerating but embracing diversity in every aspect of their music making. If we listen closely enough, we may be able to learn just as much from them as they have from one another.
Catch Corner House on tour: June 11 – Pamet Harbor Club – Truro, MA June 23 – House concert – Baltimore, MD June 24 – Red Wing Roots Music Festival – Mt. Solon, VA June 26 – Stone Room Concerts – Arlington, VA
Originally hailing from Boston, MA, Corner House takes their name from the place where the four young band members found a musical family in one another—their shared home in Brighton, as students at Berklee College of Music. Made up of songwriter and guitarist Ethan Hawkins, Scottish fiddle player Louise Bichan, cellist Casey Murray, and bluegrass mandolinist Ethan Setiawan, Corner House are students of a wide variety of musical traditions. For their debut full-length record, they enlisted harp virtuoso Maeve Gilchrist, a past mentor to all four band members, to produce.
SA Examiner 